#in essence alas he's not yet set off my oh there's something wrong with him sensor

[devotion-between-the-wheat]

nightbringer!asmo is fantastic but he does lose some attractiveness points because he's clearly hasn't given into the bloodlust yet.

[thebrochtuarachs]

Something in the Rain - “Friday Lunch”

A/N: I’m sorry I posted this a week late but I had work to do over the weekend and couldn’t squeeze it in. But alas, here I am at 2:00AM posting this as inspiration struck and I wanted to share this new chapter with you all even with pending work waiting tomorrow morning. :) Thank you for reading and all your lovely comments on this little fic. <3 Again, this fic is me trying to get back into writing so some things might be off. I also noticed that I didn’t really set a particular location for this fic so I invented most of the areas where this is set but in essence, think of it in major CBD areas. I hope this update brings a little joy to you as we continue to stay home in this pandemic. As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Lots of love, M.

AO3  / C1: A Day In June : C2: Definitely, Maybe : C3: So We Meet Again 

XXXX

Jamie scheduled to arrive 15 minutes early for their meeting to make sure that they were able to get a seat before the lunch rush. Nothing extraordinary was happening on this particular Friday with only some paperwork and quick calls taking his time so there was no rush to get back to the office. 

Just as he left his building, he spotted Claire at the crossing heading to the plaza. 

“Claire! Wait up!” Jamie called out as he tried to catch her but to his surprise, Claire ignored him and crossed the street nonetheless. Confused at first, Jamie let it go and went with the next group of people. 

When he arrived at the restaurant, Claire acknowledged him with a cheerful greeting. “Hi! I just arrived, thought I’d come a little early to save us a seat.” 

“I know.” Jamie replied casually but Claire’s questioned look prompted him to follow through quickly. “I saw you earlier just before you crossed the street. I called your name but maybe you didn’t hear me”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I probably didn’t. I usually have my headphones on when walking and completely unaware of anything except well...walking.”

“No worries. It’s all good.” Jamie replied, thankful for the explanation but it was no big deal really because what’s more important to him was that she was there. “Did you order yet?” 

“No, not yet, was waiting for you. I’d probably get the soy chicken chops today. How about you? What are you ordering? How was your chicken yesterday?” 

“It was really good and tasty! Now, I know why you come here weekly.” he stood, ready to get in line. “I’ll probably have what you’ll be getting. Any drink preference?” 

“Maybe a large red iced tea” Claire said, taking out her wallet to get some cash.

“No need.” Jamie halted Claire as humbly as he could hoping that she saw the genuineness of his lunch offer. “It’s my treat today for introducing me to this meal.” 

Claire mused initially but accepted his kind gesture. “Thank you.” 

Jamie came back with their food and added french fries for a side dish. “This is for sharing, feel free to get some” He said, serving their food and giving the tray back to the counter. 

If Jamie thought there would be an awkwardness to their sudden acquaintanceship, he thought wrong. There was something about Claire that just puts him at ease. 

“You know, come to think of it, I should be treating you for sharing your umbrella the other day.” Claire said, beginning to eat and Jamie following suit. 

“Well, I’m currently and probably addicted to this chicken now so, call it even.” 

“Haha, sure.” 

“So, what are you specializing in?” Jamie asked, continuing the conversation. 

“I’m a pediatric neonatal surgeon at North Hope General Hospital. I’m finishing, or hoping to finish, my residency in a year. How about you?” 

“I’m an associate lawyer with Fraser Clan Law.” 

“Oh, that’s why your name was familiar. Your family’s company has been here in the city forever, almost like an institution!”

“Yeah, been here for around 50 years. My grandfather started it and now my father is heading it and I joined a few years back after I finished law school.” 

“Is it something you’d always planned? Joining the family business?”

“Kind off, yes. I have been going to the office since I was young so I grew up in that place. But I learned to love the profession as well, seeing my family do it, defending and fighting for justice… gives me a thrill.” 

“I can relate to that somehow. Whenever I’m in the O.R., saving a life, especially babies, seeing the look on the parents face when they see and hold their child for the first time. Nothing makes me happier than keeping families together, it’s just the best” 

The rest of the hour flew by fast as they exchanged interesting work stories. Thankfully, Claire wasn’t bored with the cases and Jamie wasn’t squirmish with blood. However, by the time they we’re opening a new topic, they had to get back to work. 

“Mind if I walk you back to the hospital?” Jamie asked as they exited the restaurant. 

“I wouldn’t mind. But, I’m actually heading to the same building you dropped me off last week.” Claire said as they made her way. 

It was a shorter walk then, Jamie thought, but glad she agreed. “Lead the way.” He pointed across the street. “Do you have a clinic there?” 

“Somewhat?” Claire began to answer as they crossed the street. “I help run a free extra-curriculars school for kids from nearby orphanages and shelters. We have art classes, dance classes, theater, books, etc. Whatever interest kids have, we might have it. Also from time to time, I do check-up the kids if they’re healthy too”

With Jamie’s silence, Claire looked to him and found him smiling. “What?” 

“I never would’ve guessed that was what you’re doing here.” He answered, Claire shyly shrugged. “What prompted this venture?”  

Before she was able to answer, a man called out to Claire ahead of her building. 

“Claire, are you heading up?” a slender man in a three-piece brown suit approached them, holding a cup of coffee on his right hand. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No problem and yes, I am heading up. Would not want to miss the puppet show.” she replied. “Oh, Jamie Fraser, this is Frank Randall. Frank Randall, Jamie Fraser. Frank volunteers here as a history teacher to the kids.” 

��Fraser? Like the law family Frasers?” Frank asked, extending a hand.

“Erm, yes. Hi, I’m Jamie.” Jamie replied, taking the handshake. 

“Frank, nice to meet you.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to be late for the puppet show so, I’ll let you be on your way.” Jamie gestured to Claire. “Thank you for lunch.” 

“No, thank you for lunch and the walk here.” Claire turned to Jamie in response. She could see there was something on his mind but the presence of Frank was holding him back and if her instincts were right, they were thinking of the same thing. 

“Well, I’ll get going. It was nice meeting you, Frank.” 

“Wait!” Claire called as Jamie turned to leave. “Same time next week?” she asked hoping it was obvious enough between them despite the short time they’ve known each other.

“I’ll be there.” Jamie smiled and nodded then turned to leave. 

Thankfully, Frank didn’t ask anymore questions about Jamie as they rode the elevator but a pang of regret hit her on their cut moment. There was more, she felt it but it never materialized with the interruption. She feared that the moment lost might turn to a chance gone before anything even happened.

Her mind was tossed until the kids dragged her from the elevator to watch the show with them. On that moment, Claire focused on the present and let everything about next week go until it was there. 

[blackrose-ffxiv]

Snakes and Spiders Part 2 07/17

Sarto’rien Faltomyri made a point of licking his lip, before he grinned. "Nay, I don't make threat. I merely pointed out how simple it's become to do so." He said, turning to Daijiro with a nod. "I'll take tea, so long as you make it. And the cup comes direct to me." He said, moving after him without sparing Lebeaux a second glance. Sarto'rien entered the room behind Daijiro, then moved towards a seat he fancied.

Lebeaux Desrosiers smirked rather smugly. “You wound me yet again. As though I would stoop to poisons.”

Daijiro Satake noticed Sarto'rien moving in a particular direction. He signaled to the waiter first that he would like tea served for three, and that he was about to make it. "Is there any particular blend you would like to enjoy? I believe the Golden Fox Trading House has a wide selection available~."

Sarto'rien cocked his head. "You seem the sort." He said simply. "I believe we both know that, should you wish harm upon me, t'would be your best and only chance." He smirked, a lot cockier than last they met. He turned to Daijiro and smiled once more. "I'm fond of that citrus tea you serve."

Daijiro smiles. "I am glad for it. I shall find something like that." He then looks to Lebeaux. "Mayhaps a bitter tea, to balance the liver?"

Lebeaux placed a hand over his heart, once again mimicking that he’d been shot by the accusations. “I wouldn’t poison you.” He promised. Though that said nothing of all the other sort of nasties that could be slipped into an unsuspecting drink. He turned his attention towards Daijiro, smiling all the while. “Black tea with cream and sugar. My liver is just fine, though your concern is noted.”

Sarto'rien didn't reply to that, merely chiming in when Lebeaux spoke of his liver. "Does tea happen to cure ones Aether? Their soul? I believe that's where his issue resides."

Daijiro looks disapprovingly at Lebeaux. "I suspect that may be dangerous", he remarks. "I will do my best", he tells Lebeaux. He then looks back at Sarto'rien: "It depends on how the tea is made. But yes, it does. I have already provided one such treatment for his excess of yang. Though the bitter-tasting foods should deal with his anger as well. It comes from an imbalance of the liver. Eating red meats and drinking alcohol and sweet-tasting things contributes to his flow of emotions."

Lebeaux turned his head slowly to smile serenely down his nose at Sarto’rien. “You should mind the state of your own soul.” He suggested. “How bold for the bastard son of a heretic to throw around such accusations so freely.” He was ignoring Daijiro pointedly now.

Sarto'rien also pretty much ignored Daijiro at this point. "My soul is rather fine, thank you. Warm, I should say." He said, before lips curled into a near-snarl. "Only a heretic to the old Inquisition. Or...Did you forget the current peace with the Dragons?" He asked. "Sore subject, I assume. Apologies. Like you I often don't know when to hold my tongue. Though...Unlike you, it isn't forked." 

“That’s right, open wide and swallow those lies.” Lebeaux suggested as he leaned on the arm of the chair, resting his chin in his palm. “Make sure you get them all down.” He was practically purring again, making it sound like he was talking about something other than politics, for sure. “Beg for more from the outsiders who would drag Ishgard down to their level. It won’t save you from the hell of ice awaiting your kind.” 

Sarto'rien let out a very amused laugh. "My, my. You find it difficult to accept truth as well as opinions. Ishgard is at peace for the first time in a thousand years, and yet you still choose not to acknowledge the obvious truth. Your level of delusion does so border on insane." He said, before smirking, the air around them bursting with warmth. "I think I'll be fine in a hell of ice. If it even exists. And if it does, I'll enjoy watching you shiver beside me."

Daijiro returns, carrying a small tray. He offered a delicately decorated cup of steaming citrus tea to Sarto'rien. He had prepared a cup of milky-white tea for himself. He left that cup, though, offering Lebeaux a tea that seemed to have a clear, light-green hue. "I apologise that I could not find the tea you desired, Ser Desrosiers."

Lebeaux disregarded the warmth in the air, his own aether remaining calm for the moment. “If you’re so concerned about the filth in this world you should perhaps spend more time cleansing the sickness in your blood. Perhaps some of that fire you love so well…” He trailed off when Daijiro returned, straightening up in his seat to accept the cup, though he peered down into it with obvious suspicion. "I find that hard to believe that we're out of black tea..."

Daijiro smiles apologetically: "I could not find it. I would offer you my cup instead, but it would not be auspicious."

Sarto'rien licked his lip. "Alas, my blood lacks sickness. Especially when compared to your aura. You should seek an expert, there's something very wrong with you and yours." He said, smiling at Daijiro. He accepted the tea and sipped at it rather quickly, humming as he watched the pair.

Lebeaux waved a hand in mild annoyance, though he was doing a fine job of keeping the smile on his face. Dismissing Daijiro’s explanation. “What sort of tea is this, then.” He peered down at the light green liquid then over at the pale tea the other had. Which looked an awful lot like milk tea. “I did request cream and sugar.” He reminded him before he tilted his head to look at Sarto. “It’s simply due to the differences between us. I am one of Her beloved. You are the byblow of the lowest form of sinner, that would be why you cannot stand my essence. It’s far too pure for your sort.”

Daijiro Satake hums. "I must have forgotten", he says. He then tries to move on and sit with his own cup.

Lebeaux reached out to grab Daijiro’s wrist without warning and held up the cup of green tea, expecting the Hingan to switch with him. “You’re being intentionally tiresome because I’ve riled up your new pet.” He noted calmly. “I’ll have yours, I’m not particularly concerned whether it’s auspicious or not.” And after all that talk of poisons he couldn’t help but be wary.

Sarto'rien let the pair bicker over tea, until the Elezen said something interesting. "Alas, I believe your essence to be far from pure. No god would have such a wicked individual as their chosen." He pointed out, before licking his lip. "And there's only one way supposed 'gods' alter their supposed 'chosen', and it isn't pure." He said, wrinkling his nose. "Though you're maybe not that insane, you still have a sickness of mind and soul." He said simply, then watched the two again. Sarto spoke with a sigh. "I'm no mans pet."

Daijiro looked dismayed, even a little flustered as the other switches tea on him. "I... ser!" He shook free, spilling a little of the light green tea of the cup that he had taken. Finally he sighed, going to sit on the couch with it, letting Sarto'rien speak. He did gives Lebeaux a 'are you really going to do this' look as he settled, unhappily.

“I’d recommend a muzzle for that one until you’ve finished training him.” Lebeaux suggested coolly as he looked between Daijiro and Sarto’rien. “As generally the way one should deal with such mongrels is by having them put down. I would hate for you to lose him prematurely.” The chirurgeon sat back in his chair with the cup of stolen tea, bringing it to his lips for a small taste.

The tea had a sweet and pungent taste, very milky too, with some slight notes of salt. It wasn't a bad taste really. Might even seem familiar.

Sarto'rien rolled his eyes. "Alas, your words are as poisoned as your mind."

Lebeaux stilled suddenly as he tasted the tea. This wasn’t what he had meant by cream and sugar. Slowly he lowered the cup from his lips with a blank smile. “Daijiro, what sort of tea is this.” He asked flatly.

Daijiro kept his eyes low in mild embarrassment, blushing: "It is a medicinal tea", he remarks. "Brewed from horny goat weed, which I believe in your land is known as bishop's hat. I also added milk and [[some really gross stuff]]."

Sarto'rien quickly lifted a hand to cover his mouth, lest his erupt into laughter.

Lebeaux rose to his feet smoothly, with a flick of the wrist he flung the contents at the Hingan. “Just how were you expecting this evening to go to require such medicine.” There wasn’t a point in spitting, he’d already swallowed it.

Sarto'rien noted the lack of spitting and smirked. "Ah, I see you're a swallower, dear Lebeaux. I guess those of the religious persuasion do spend a lot of time on their knees."

Daijiro opened his mouth to answer Lebeaux, but then there was HOT TEA SPILLING ON HIM. He instinctively shielded his face with his large sleeve, though still cried out in pain. The tea was hot. "Ack!" His hand curled into a fist as he kept his face shielded.

Lebeaux had swallowed some fairly foul things in his lifetime but that was a new low. He set the cup down firmly on the arm of the chair he had previously been occupying and turned on his heel to stalk out of the room without so much as a good day, fluttering coat tails behind him as his boot heels clicked sharply against the floorboards.

Sarto'rien smirked and watched him go. "It was good to see you! Hope we can catch up again in a few months."

Daijiro spluttered a bit, waiting for the sound of footsteps to diminish. He would not permit Sarto'rien to look at his face, his shame, keeping his sleeve so high.

Sarto'rien turned to Daijiro and offered a smile. "Well...I came to see you regarding a little information, but I believe that can wait. You've rather made my day."

Daijiro slowly lowered his arm. "Have I?" he asked, a fair bit less composed than usual. "I am grateful that my humiliation has served to your amusement, Sarto." It sounded slightly bitter. "What information is it that you seek? I shall look into it and we can discuss it at our next meeting."

Sarto'rien blinked. "Oh, no. You should nary be humiliated. Your covering in tea was caused by the anger of a humiliated zealot forced into drinking the [[icky stuff]]." He couldn't stop that sentence making him laugh as he sipped his tea. "Had that mixture not smelled so bad, you should wear it as a badge of honour."

Daijiro seems a little bit relieved by Sarto'rien's words: "It shall be very troublesome to have it removed from my garment. I shall have to ask Kareem", he said. He then bites his lip. "I would caution you. Lebeaux can be dangerous in his unpredictability, as you have just witnessed. I do not question your prowess, but even the wisest mage can be felled by a knife in his back."

Sarto'rien offered Daijiro a light smile at the warning. "I believe myself too amusing to him. I've known him a while, now. He doesn't scare me half as much as the poison within his aether does." He said, shaking his head. "You mayhaps should be the one to fear the knife. I'm an annoyance, but I believe he knows killing me would make him some strong enemies. And...Mayhaps lose him some valued allies. But from you...Mayhaps he would gain something." Sarto'rien then set down his half-drank tea and stood. "Alas, I should be going. What I sought involved our previous conversation. One I believe we should have within the privacy of your home, next time. Not where crazy zealots can over-hear us."

@archmagesarto @grey-lotus-ffxiv

[jotawakening-blog]

25 Fentuary, 5A 169: From Kandarin to the Jungle, Questing As I Go

As mentioned, I arrived yesterday in Camelot in good time for the evening repast, and I spent the meal discussing my adventures with my fellow knights.  We got to talking about how Merlin is doing— it seems he’s busy getting his workshop back in order and getting used to the strange world he’s found himself in— and Sir Palomedes let slip that that there might be some more work for me to do around the castle— something to do with a chalice called the Holy Grail?  It sounded intriguing, but they told me I would need to speak with King Arthur himself come morning to learn more, which is why I am here, ready to hear what he has to say to me.

The matter at hand, King Arthur explains, is thus: there is indeed an artefact called the Holy Grail, which has passed over into this world from Teragard along with himself and his court.  This artefact was the subject of a great quest, albeit a failed one— and its reappearance gives the Knights of the Round Table another chance to find it!  He tells me that he’s tasked Merlin with looking into its whereabouts, and it’s possible he may have found something by now.  The King invites me to go speak to the wizard, up in one of the towers.

I pay a visit to Merlin, who is quite willing to cooperate.  He tells me it would be very good for Camelot to have the Grail back, and that he suspects that, since it is a holy artefact, it would have appeared in a holy place.  With that in mind, he urges me to visit the holy isle nearby (he can’t remember the name, understandably, but I’ve a strong feeling he means Entrana) and ask around… oh, and I could try speaking to Sir Galahad as well.  He was the knight with the most success the last time the hunt for the Grail took place, so it’s likely he might know something more.  Sir Galahad, he tells me, is now living as a religious hermit out near McGrubor’s Wood.  Ah, yes, I think I remember the guy!

McGrubor’s Wood is a lot closer than Entrana, so I make that my first destination in this hunt… that is, after speaking with the knights currently at Camelot, to see if they know anything.  Unfortunately, no one seems to have any concrete information: at best, they wish me good luck, and at worst (I’m looking at you, Sir Lancelot) they gloat about how my effort is doomed and I should just give up.  Anyway, since they’re no help, I go over to Sir Galahad’s house.  Galahad is nice enough to make me a cup of tea, and indulge my conversation.  Actually, as he explains, he’s not Sir Galahad any more: he prefers to go by Brother Galahad these days.

To my positive surprise, when I mention the Grail, he doesn’t pretend he knows nothing, but falls into a deeply pleasant reminiscence about his experiences when at the artefact’s resting place: the spear!  The food!  The people!  I ask him where he found the place, but he tells me it was the other way around: it found him.  It felt somewhat dream-like there, he says, but exquisitely so, and he only left because he had the strong impression he was needed back in Camelot.  Before he left, he took a sort of souvenir with him: a bit of table cloth from the high table of the Grail’s castle.  I ask him why he didn’t take the Grail itself, and he replies that a conviction rose within him that the Grail belonged in its current location, and that it would be wrong to move it.  That’s fair enough, I suppose… yet, it’s something I’ll have to see with my own eyes if I’m to believe it.

When I’ve asked all the questions about the Grail I can think of, I glance over the books on Brother Galahad’s shelf.  Most of them are religious treatises on Saradomin that seem quite boring, but there’s one, on the bottom shelf, whose title, the ‘Book of the Elemental Body’ catches my interest, for it seems to be another of the works penned by the artisans of the Elemental Workshop!  I open it, and my suspicion turns out to be entirely correct: the book is a treatise on the next level of sophistication of elemental crafting.  The book begins with a discussion of the measures taken by Vitruvius of returning life to the assistant who was left brain-dead in the accident that led to the discovery of mind-priming.  Initial attempts to de-prime the bar were unsuccessful, so Vitruvius turned his attention to studying the magic of the body, as encapsulated in the body runes of common use.  Eventually, he did find a method of harnessing the energy, but it required a machine of unwieldy size, and in the end was only powerful enough to restore life to the assistant’s arm, which then had to be amputated anyway as it tried to strangle the assistant.

Well, if true, this is very interesting stuff: what the book says would imply that, hidden away in the depths of the workshop, there is a giant machine designed to manipulate body energy!  The question is: how do I get to it?  Actually, I have some idea: on the cover of the book is an embossed ridge in the shape of a key, and coupled with a few cryptic sentences in the text, it seems plausible that this is actually the template for the key that will unlock the lower workshop!  I grab some clay and make an impression of the front cover, then take some bronze down to the workshop’s furnace to produce a duplicate key— but alas, the furnace is too hot for this sort of metalwork.  As there isn’t another furnace for miles around, I guess I shall have to leave the matter be for now and come back later, once I’ve had a chance to do some proper smelting.

For now, I leave the Seers’ Village to the south-west, heading in the general direction of Ardougne (from where I will catch the boat to Brimhaven and return the re-stolen tribal totem), but leaving my way flexible so that I can follow the pull of the enchanted key.  In fact, the detour ends up being quite considerable: the key leads me to the Tree Gnome Stronghold, where I find a small buried cache of 20 iron arrowheads, a few water runes and some rune essence.  It isn’t much, maybe, but, hey, it was sort of worth it, I guess?

For good measure, I feel the key again, but it’s very cold right now: if there’s more treasure to be found, it’s a long, long way from here.  So I get back on the road and reach Ardougne in the early afternoon.  Once there, I make use of the municipal furnace to try making a key from the mould I produced, but run into trouble: the mould is too fragile for me to fill it with a bar of bronze or iron or a conventional metal.  I’ll need something that’s quite ductile if I’m to do this right, and the most malleable substance I can think of that still has the requisite hardness is elemental metal.  For that, though, I’d need to go all the way back to Seers’ Village, and I’ve got other stuff to take care of.

Like returning the totem to the tribe!  I withdraw the figurine from my bank deposit box and smuggle it on the ferry to Karamja.  Fortunately, no one bothers to check whether I’m carrying contraband, so I manage to get to Brimhaven without attracting undue attention.  Once there, I make my way to the Shrimp and Parrot, where Kangai Mau is still waiting around, and hand him the totem.  He is most grateful, and repays me with some fish his tribe had caught: five huge, juicy swordfish!  A true feast!

As is somewhat traditional for me by now, my next intention is to check back at Tai Bwo Wannai Village to see how my favourite tribe is doing: it’s not a long walk, and they seem always to be in need of some adventurer’s help.  This time, it would seem, is no different, but it’s not construction work that I’m needed for.  The village has now been restored to a functional state, and the work on offer is now from Chief Timfraku himself!  He requests to see me upon hearing that I’m in town, and explains to me the nature of the task: despite our success at rebuilding, his three sons, Tiadeche, Tamayu and Tinsay, have been reluctant to return.  Someone needs to go and persuade them that it’s safe to come back.

That seems like an easy enough task, and I accept it readily.  Before I leave, I ask the Chief to tell me about the three sons.  He recounts, first, the order of their birth: Tamayu is the eldest, followed by Tinsay, followed by Tiadeche.  Tamayu, the Chief says, was a born hunter, killing his first monkey at the age of three!  Tinsay, meanwhile, was trained to be a priest, but hasn’t been quite himself since an accident involving jogres some years ago.  Finally, Tiadeche is an aspiring fisherman, but isn’t very good at it because he ignores the advice of his elders.

I ask the Chief where I might find his sons, but he tells me he doesn’t know, only that they’re around somewhere nearby: they wouldn’t have gone too far.  That still leaves a lot of jungle to cover, and I’m quite unprepared for the search: my pack is too heavy to do any off-road hiking, for one!  That calls for a trek to the TzHaar City to avail myself of the bank, and so I set out to do just that.  By the time I’m back at Tai Bwo Wannai, the sun has begun its descent, but I reckon I can get a bit of searching in before nightfall.

Now, Tamayu and Tinsay could be anywhere, but Tiadeche, being a fisherman, is likely to have gone off somewhere on the coast.  Accordingly, I strike out down the beach from Tai Bwo Wannai, keeping an eye out for natives.  I don’t run into any friendly ones for a while after leaving Tai Bwo Wannai, and my luck only changes when I see the form of a man with long, brown hair and Tai Bwo Wannai-style robes standing atop the mountainous island I clambered onto during a previous trip to Karamja, the island crowned by the stone cairn.  Once again, I make my way over, and, after a few near-drownings as I attempted to cross the very rickety rope bridge from the shore, get close enough to the figure and talk to him.

The man introduces himself as Tinsay, and for all I can tell, his father was right: he’s more than a little touched in the head.  I tell him his father wants him to return to the village, but he won’t go: he tells me he needs to repair the tribal statue, you know, the one in the village.  I ask him if he will return to the village to do that, but he refuses, saying he’ll move only when someone (like, me) brings him a banana marinaded in Karamjan rum.  How that will fix the statue, I have no idea, but there’s no arguing with him.  I guess I have no choice…

Getting the rum and banana would force me to trek all the way to Musa Point, though, and that’s rather far.  So, instead of hiking all the way out there, Decide to redouble my efforts in searching for the other two brothers.  I continue down the coast a short ways, but the terrain soon becomes quite hostile: extremely thick jungle, sprawling over very steep hillsides.  Out in the distance, I even make out some forms that seem to be… giant birds?  By coincidence, I happen upon a group of foresters, who tell me that the way forward is well-nigh impassable, and if they haven’t been able to find a way through, neither will I.  It’s a fair point, so I turn inland and head along the riverbank, which if nothing else is at least traversable.  On the other side of the river lies Shilo Village, actually quite an expansive settlement, but its gates are firmly shut this late in the day.  By nightfall, I make it to the eastern shore of Karamja and make camp on the beach, but encounter no sign of either of Timfraku’s other sons.